Tarboro, N.C. — Attorneys quickly selected 12 jurors and two alternates Monday to decide whether a Rocky Mount man is guilty of murder. Opening statements are expected to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the case of Antwan Maurice Pittman.

Pittman, 31, is charged with one murder — the 2009 death of Taraha Shenice Nicholson. But he is linked to the deaths of at least seven other women, and authorities have said they think he is a serial killer. (Read more)

Note: I would not have thought they would have selected the jurors that quick. Curmilus Dancy II – DCN Publisher

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The latest back and forth between President Barack Obama and California Rep. Maxine Waters, who has emerged a his principal foil within the Congressional Black Caucus, illustrates the unique and intractable position Obama finds himself in. As the nation’s first black president, he is called upon to address black America in an especially personal way, but when he does so, he almost always takes heat for it. (Read more)

I attended the Craven County NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet New Bern NC. The speaker was former Mayor of Snow Hill, former Senator District 5 and the current 1st Congressional District Chair of the Democratic Party.

I have been knowing Don Davis for many years and he is a fine young man and very professional.

Davis shared some history on the birth of the NAACP by sharing a town who endured adversity. He talked about the same place that was the birth of President Abraham Lincoln after there had been a race riot was the same place that birthed the NAACP. He stated if they could overcome adversity then we could also.

Davis stated that the top 2 things should be jobs and education. Davis said in the legislature 60% of the budget goes to funding education so when there are cuts where do you think they begin? Correct, education. He basically said that we should be in a state of emergency when it comes to education because we haven’t seen anything yet. He said if we continue down the same path we are on, we are going to see dumbing down of our education system. I totally agree because this is basically what I had said earlier today to the NCREWG (North Carolina Rural Education Working Group) committee in Stantonsburg NC. I said if we focus on the education piece then it will take care of other things such as jobs.

In closing, I have considered Edgecombe County Public Schools being in a state of emergency for several years. I am the only parent who attends the majority of the meetings. I stay until the meeting is completely over and this means many times I am there by myself waiting for them to come out of closed session which put me at the meetings from around 6:15 PM until around 9:30 PM and many times until around 11:00 PM according to what is on the agenda. I video the meetings and post them on The DCN TV.

As I look at the local education system and the education system across the nation as a whole, I feel that we should be in a state of emergency.